Actor and Partner Effects of Mothers’ and Fathers’ Parenting Stress and Family Cohesion and Flexibility on Warm Parenting Behavior

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to assess actor and partner effects of mothers' and fathers' parenting stress and family cohesion and flexibility on warm parenting behavior. Methods The sample consisted of 1,471 couples from the Panel Study of Korean Children. The sample was drawn from the sixth wave of data collection, including mothers and fathers of children aged 60–66 months. Data were analyzed via actor-partner interdependence models. Results The findings illustrated that the actor effect of parenting stress on warm parenting behavior was significant in mothers and fathers, but there was no partner effect. They also revealed that actor and partner effects were significant in relation to mothers' and father's parenting stress and family cohesion and flexibility. Moreover, there was an actor effect of family cohesion on warm parenting behavior for mothers and fathers, but its partner effect was significant only in mothers. Finally, the mediating effects of family cohesion and flexibility between parenting stress and warm parenting behavior was verified. Conclusion The results highlight not only the need for dyadic data analysis for mothers and fathers but also the need to consider in depth the fathers' role in parenting. Additional implications are discussed. Keywords: parenting stress, family cohesion and flexibility, warm parenting behavior, actor effects, partner effects